O K boys & girls ... new kid on the block if you call 44 yrs old a kid that is . My fett is 80% done . I just got my Ruffkins gauntlet kit . Raw styrene and who out there knows the A to Z on assembly , modification , paint .... the whole nine yards . Chris Bartlett ( aka TK409 ) says he likes his guants .... so here I go .First... the styrene seems a little flimsy . Do I beef it up or just assemble and paint? What paints do I use,how do I assemble , what glue , etc etc . HELP ! I know this has probably been beaten to death , but I really want to do this right . Take it away comrades !!!!!

Mike :fettesb

Mar 13, 2005

CENOBYTE

Re: Ruffkins rom scratch

Welcome to the block. Here's my gauntlet recipe:

The first thing I do is trim off all the excess styrene from the shells. Line the two halves of each gauntlet up where you want them to meet/overlap, and draw a line on them, then dremel the extra material off. I also use a grinding disc on the dremel to trim the areas around the wrist and the elbow. Also at this stage I sand down the imperfections on the resin pieces, and use Bondo spot putty to fill any air bubbles in the resin.

Next, reinforce the insides of the gauntlet shells if you feel so inclined. Some people fiberglass theirs, but I use spray on truck bed lining. It thickens up the gauntlets but doesn't add much weight.

Next, attach the resin pieces that will be painted the same color as the gauntlets. I use a combination of plastic welder (a 2 part epoxy from walmart) and screws to attach the resin pieces. I use rivets to attach the flame thrower box to the left gauntlet.

Next, spray on some primer, and then some silver or chrome paint. Silver will dull to grey if you clear coat it (or if you use dull coat), but chrome turns more of a silvery color after you clear coat it. After you have the silver applied, mask off any areas that you want to remain silver (mustard works well for this) and begin laying down the primary color. If you're doing ROTJ, the "claret wine" color TK409 lists on his site works well.

While you're waiting for the paint to dry, crack a beer open. You're halfway done. (It's a good idea to wait 24 hours between coats of paint to let it cure completely.)

At this point, I would begin painting the resin pieces that you have not attached yet. (The rocket/laser, the MQ1 keypad, etc.) For the rocket, I painted it silver, then sponged on black and copper in the appropriate areas.

Back to the gauntlets. If the paint is dry, begin scraping the mustard-mask off with your finger nail. Anything hard can and will damage the paint underneath. Now attach the remaining greeblies. Some extras you may want to pick up would be black push buttons for the flame thrower, toggle switches, coaxial connectors (to replace the resin flamethrower nozzles), a red LED, and gauntlet darts. (Chuck makes awesome aluminum ones).

Next is the fun part: weathering. Spray on a light mist of black, primer, rust, and any other colors you desire. Smear some charcoal in areas. Sponge a little grey over some of the silver to dull it down if it's too shiny. Add more topical silver scratches if you like.

Next, it needs to be sealed. Testor's Dull Coat works well.

Finally, attach any velcro or other items you want to use to hold the shells together. If you want it screen accurate, use velcro on both the top and bottom of each gaunt. I prefer to use a length of hinge on the top side of each gauntlet, and velcro on the bottom side, but that just me. Mix all ingredients in a pot and bake at 400 degrees for an hour. Voila.

TK409's site has alot of usefull pics and info for assembling these. He also lists the exact part numbers for the push buttons and coaxial connectors you should get from radio shack.

Hope that helps.

Ceno

Mar 13, 2005

cal196

Re: Ruffkins rom scratch

Nice method, I would just throw in. Before you do anything Wash all the parts very well with soapy water and let air dry.

Mar 13, 2005

CENOBYTE

Re: Ruffkins rom scratch

Ah yes, washing all the parts first is important. I'm working on a new pair of gauntlets now, so I will try to add some pics in the next few days.

Mar 13, 2005

Fettism

Re: Ruffkins from scratch

Excellent advice guys . I will get started today . If I think of any other questions or run into any problems you guys will be the first to know . I will post pictures of my progress .Heres # 1 .Thanks